Complex Systems Lab

Our research focus is on study of complex systems, primarily of biological origin. We are exploring systems architecture of complex diseases, drug-target networks and brain networks. Broad areas that we study include computational & systems biology, bioinformatics, mathematical modeling, network biology, in silico drug discovery and biomedical data analysis. Apart from modeling and analysis of complex systems, we aim to probe for their control mechanisms and design principles.

Leveraging food for better health through data-driven approaches
Have you ever wondered why do we combine ingredients in our recipes the way we do? Or for that matter, could we find scientific ways for altering diet to improve health? Our data-driven investigations aimed at probing patterns in traditional Indian recipes, in response to the first question, have led us to the discovery of a novel food pairing phenomenon in Indian cuisine. Our studies have revealed ‘culinary fingerprints’ of regional cuisines and role of spice as the molecular fulcrum of Indian recipes. Such data-driven explorations of food are opening new avenues for development of divergent applications in the domains of nutrition and health. One such direction is towards application of machine learning for ‘personalized nutrition’ that can potentially answer the second question, thereby allowing us to leverage food as medicine.

Assortative mixing of residue contacts in the Residue Interaction Graph Models of Protein Structures.
We found that coarse-grained, graph theoretical models of protein structures are characterized by assortative mixing. This exceptional and
generic property of proteins could have bearing on their function and folding kinetics.Ganesh Bagler and Somdatta Sinha, Bioinformatics, 23 (14), 1760-1767 (2007).

Analysis of Airport Network of India: A Representative Network Model of India's Aviation Infrastructure.
The Airport Network of India (ANI) was modeled as weighted, directed network based on empirical data. While the ANI was found to be similar to its world-wide network counterpart, the degree correlations were observed to be distinctly different. These studies are aimed at providing insight into the evolution of the network, and to look for policy guidelines so as to improve robustness against random failures, targeted attacks, and spread of epidemics.Ganesh Bagler*, Physica A, 346, 2972-2980 (2008). |
arXiv:cond-mat/0409773 | Blog

Flavidoscope is an android app based on the discovery of characteristic food pairing in the Indian cuisine, which sets the cuisine apart in the way flavors are blended in traditional Indian recipes. It is aimed at chefs and amateur cooks and facilitates generation of novel recipes by blending characteristic Indian flavors. The app brings the science of molecular gastronomy into the kitchen. In the present form, it allows to explore four categories of Indian recipes: Roti/Naan, Pakoda/Bhajia, Dosa, Idli and Khichadi. We are working on improved strategies to capture the molecular essence of Indian food using artificial intelligence. Credits- Android App Development: Rishabh Bharadwaj; Data analytics and app algorithm: Lavanya Gupa; Discovery: Anupam Jain and Rakhi; Project Lead: Ganesh Bagler

Aspects of research being conducted by Ganesh Bagler at the Center for Computational Biology, Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology Delhi (IIIT-Delhi), along with his students.
Our work focuses on mathematical and computational modeling of biological phenomena. We aim to understand subtle principles underlying biological complex systems and to engineer systems that are designed to be adaptive and antifragile.Publications | Resources:Data | Internship/Thesis Opportunites

Cadence Advanced Technology Talk: Can a biologist fix a radio? — Challenges and opportunities in computational biology.Summary: Advances biology have led to a new era in computational biology for creating meaningful models of biological systems, their analysis and seeking for ways of their control. In this context, by invoking the metaphor of biological system as a radio I pointed out few pertinent challenges and opportunities in computational biology. Disclaimer: The invitation for Advanced Technical Talk does not imply endorsement from Cadence Design Systems to me, my work or my institute.